Hazard To Your Health
by LivinJgrl123
Summary: Roy might not be right for Cassie. Cassie might not be right for Roy. It doesn't matter, though. You can't change how you feel about the person you care about most. *a collection of one-shots* *mixed A/U settings*
1. Stay With Me

_**Disclaimer.**_

_**This one-shot series (Hazard to Your Health) will be posted every... well... whatever day I said it would be, along with my other ones. I hope you like them! These one-shots will focus on this pairing AS WELL as others :) I will state the A/U status at the beginning of each chappie! Reviews are welcome! Thank ye for reading :)**_

**IMPORTANT NOTE BELOW: (IF YOU READ IT WILL MAKE THIS A WHOLE LOT EASIER FOR YOU)**

_**Here's how the A/U will be rated:**_

_**01 Column: how different it is from the show (less/more/major)  
02 Column: setting/verse ( the show/non)  
03 Column: 2nd setting (schools/camps/ect cetera/the show)  
**_

* * *

_A/U Status:_

_1 - - - Less_  
_2 - - - The Show_  
_3 - - - The Show_

* * *

Enter, Cassandra Sandsmark - known as Cassie, to her friends and the Team; as sidekick, to the League; as Wonder Girl, to the rest of the world, as well as the Team. To _Arsenal_, however... well, she didn't exactly _know_ what she was to _him_.

Enter, the original Roy Harper - simply known as Roy, to his friends and the team, as somewhat troublesome to the League; As Arsenal, to the rest of the world, as well as the Team. To Wonder Girl, though... well, he already had some sort of idea of what she thought of him.

It had been a while since he'd been offered a place on the team. He wasn't all that upset about it, he'd rather go solo (so it was in genetics, then). The team had told him he'd be welcomed, but the possibility of them actually caring about his well-being - the thought of Cassie doing just that, caring, hadn't slipped his mind; it only seemed unlikely - but after what M'gann had told him the other night, he was open to the possibility that she had liked him and had - even though he hadn't exactly smart about his decisions - he was somewhat thankful for it. In fact, he was probably_more_ than somewhat _thankful_. The thought made him feel just a little bit lighter, although he hadn't ever cared for anyone who'd liked him before.

Cassie must've been different.

Roy was back at the Cave, talking to Nightwing about something he'd taken care of that night (he'd figured that he'd be doing the ex- Boy Wonder a favor by dropping by even though he had refused to be a part of the team in the first place) when M'gann entered the room. They had just about finished up their conversation and welcomed the martian's presence - neither of them wanted to carry on an argument for the rest of the night after what needed to be said had been said.

"Hi, Roy!" M'gann chirped, smiling, but it was evident to Roy that she - _and_ Nightwing - were running on rust at the moment. Whatever mission they'd gone on must have been emotionally _and_physicality taxing in order to look _that_ tired. Roy was a little tired himself, but it was nothing that a little excitement couldn't cure it - and he knew that he was nowhere near exhaustion like they were. He wanted to leave because A.) heroes needed their sleep and B.) he wanted to get out of here as fast as possible since arguing with Nightwing was a bad idea. It annoyed him that the Bat's old sidekick was mad at him for his recklessness and the fact that he wouldn't ever be allowed on the team unless he decided to play fair, but hey - he had to get along somehow, right?

"Hey," the archer said uncertainly, giving her an awkward smile as she walked slowly over to them. Even her smile was tired. She turned to Nightwing, who nodded in greeting. "I just thought I'd come out here, but I forgot why..." after a moment, she chirped, "Hello Megan! I remember what I wanted to ask!"

"Go ahead," Nightwing said, but not before shooting a look at Roy (who returned it) as he faced his teammate. Luckily,the archer and former sidekick had missed the glance the older two had shared for a brief moment.

Luckily.

"I was going to ask if you've seen Cassie around," M'gann said, her smile faltering a bit.

"Isn't she in her room?" Nightwing asked, his eyes narrowing behind his domino mask. Roy looked somewhat uninterested, but the older of the three in the living room knew better.

"No, I checked there - I've checked everywhere. It's just that - well, seeing as today's mission was so taxing - and the Team could have been wiped out... she's..."

Nightwing nodded. "She just needs her space; most of us do, I guess."

Roy's attention was held by this news. Cassie? Needing _space_? As bubbly and enthusiastic as she was, she didn't really need space. She could get upset - more likely, angry - but needing space was uncommon, although it didn't surprise him.

"Try the Cave's back door," Nightwing said.

M'gann nodded. She turned to Roy and grinned. "Would you like to come with me?"

He blinked.

_No_.

"Okay."

Roy headed for the hall, leaving Nightwing and Miss M to share a grin before she followed him out, leaving the former sidekick of Batman alone to his own devices.

Meanwhile, M'gann and Roy stopped in front of the "back door" as it was still dubbed from when the martian had first come to Earth.

Roy raised an eyebrow as if to say 'why are we stopping'?

"I want you to find Cassie."

He blinked. "Excuse me?" a frown surfaced on his lips, and the older of the two grinned like fool would.

"I think she's outside," she continued, "I just wanted you to go talk to her."

"Why - "

"I'm pretty sure she's upset; don't you want to be a good friend to her, Roy?"

He scowled at her, saying nothing.

A good friend?

He wasn't even _her_ friend - he had no experience in comforting others (especially after missing eight years of his own life and being cloned; that had certainly served a blow to his current state of mind, social or not), but the idea of seeing Cassie _was_ tempting. And, remembering what Miss M had said to him, it might be a good idea (but at best, it seemed like a disaster).

_"She likes you. More than you know."_

If Cassandra Sandsmark had a crush on him, it seemed entirely unlikely.

Miss M simply patted his arm as he opened his mouth to protest and walked away and out of sight.

Crap. Now he was expected to go an talk to her (admitting to wanting to see her was one thing; actually seeing her was another).

He stood awkwardly, by himself in the silence, outside the "back door", thinking about his options.

It would be hazardous to his - and her's - health he openly admitted right here and now that she meant something to him - something _more_ - than everything would be screwed. He couldn't. If there was anything deemed impossible, this was probably it. For her to openly admit that she felt for him would be catastrophic. It would mean more trouble, more danger, for them both. It would be hazardous to them both if they became even friends - friends could be used as leverage.

And since he'd been on ice for eight years, he hadn't been exactly _chummy_ with anyone lately.

And why would Cassie even like him? Why would he like her? He was broken; she was blunt (he found that oddly amusing sometimes, along with the nicknames she tended to hand out). He was cynical; she was bubbly. He was everything she seemed to _not_ be - heroic seemed to be one of the things she was and he was getting to be, though. She was... a part of the Team. He was not. She was a part of something and he... he was not. They were different - it...

Roy shook his head.

_Screw it._

Clearing it wouldn't be an option if he kept thinking like he was.

Sighing heavily, he stepped outside, and was met by a harsh, cool wind that sent goose bumps racing up and down his arms, but the cold didn't tear his attention from the obvious form of Cassie sitting a few feet away, curled up on the very edge. He had to say, by her position and slow, even breathing, that she had fallen asleep out here.

He guessed falling asleep out here - probably an accident - hadn't been her choice, but alone time was alone time, wasn't it?

Roy turned to go back inside, the obvious feeling of... _what was that feeling in his chest? _It felt like he was being weighed down - as if someone were standing on him, cutting off his air supply. He hadn't known what to expect - talking? No. Standing there awkwardly? Probably. What could he possibly say to her? What would she say to him?

Well, at least he wouldn't have to say anything now.

He scoffed quietly.

_I need to leave_.

Roy turned, feeling a scowl darken his expression as he turned to go back inside to the Zeta Tubes and stepped towards the door, but a soft, murmured word reached his ears - it was so quiet he could have mistaken it for a whisper of the wind. But he hadn't. And the one word caused him to halt mid-step.

_"Stay..."_

Roy turned his head sharply towards her relaxed form - or, at least, it was rigid now.

He stood there, for a moment, scenarios of all kinds twisting and turning within his mind - and he just decided to shove it all to the back of his mind and took a step back towards her.

"Cassie..."

She did not reply, and seemed to only curl further into herself.

Roy - uncertainly - sat himself down next to her, his feet hanging off the edge of the "door step", watching her carefully. Her face was not visible, and only one thought ran through his head as her hand shot out to grab his, and pulled him closer, so her head was up against the side of his knee, and her breathing began to return to its slow, even pattern.

"Stay with me..."

_I'm a hazard to your health, Cass._

He sighed heavily, and relaxed his stiffened posture, his eyes going skyward, and he was soon lost to the sounds around him and their own breathing, his mind churning with everything that could go wrong. They weren't friends, he couldn't like her, she couldn't like him - but he knew, he just knew, and it would mean danger and trouble - oh, so much trouble - for everyone: them, the League, _her_ friends, _her_ team, _her_ family. It would mean that for everyone.

He couldn't have that, could he? Could either of them have that?

No.

Not for her.

Not for him.

But she was right there, now back asleep, oblivious to everything it seemed - everything but him. He was getting chilled, she had to be - at least a little bit. There was no need for words, apparently. He didn't need to talk. She didn't need to. Nothing was needed here - nothing except comfort for the world's Wonder Girl. He didn't know what she was to him - he had an idea, though - a temptingly nice idea. What he was to her, though - he also had a nice idea, which went went with the first idea.

Although it meant so much turbulence that could be avoided, Cassie was still... Cassie...

And she radiated warmth, friendliness - everything he lacked at best...

He sat, for a very long while, his one real arm draped around her as she slept, with only one thought drifting in and out through his mind.

_I'm a hazard you to your health, Cass..._


	2. You're Staring Again

**I was a little iffy on this one... oh well!**

* * *

A/U_ Status:_

_1 - - - More  
2 - - - The Show  
3 - - - The Show_

* * *

I should have seen it coming. I should have seen it coming, as soon as my eyes locked with hers - and then I should have walked away. Not from her, or the Team, or the League - but from those _eyes_. Those hypnotic, wonderfully blunt and clear eyes.

But I didn't see it coming.

With my head bowed, arms crossed, and back up against the wall, listening to the morning chit-chat of the Cave, waiting for my first mission with this team - waiting for my introduction, I was half-asleep, trying to block out everyone's voice.

But see, I had this odd feeling twinge inside of me. That usually meant someone was staring. I'd been up for an hour and had been steadily ignoring that twinge for about five minutes, but it was driving me crazy - and Nightwing still had to introduce me, so I looked up.

I shouldn't have.

My eyes immediately found the source of the odd feeling - and I found myself doing the same thing that that said thing was doing to cause that odd, twisting feeling in the first place.

I stared _back_.

There was this pretty blonde girl, maybe about fifteen, in track paints, blue shoes, and a tank top with W's on them. I didn't know who any of these people were, but I figured that I'd probably be _wanting_ to get to know _her_. I felt like I should know her - maybe I did, maybe I didn't, but I was really twenty-three, so I _couldn't_ have known her before I'd become Speedy - before I'd been... put on ice. She was peeking around a corner of the kitchen in this way that made me want to grin. But I didn't, because she was _staring_.

And she was _staring_ at _me_, of all people.

I didn't think it was because I was the _original Roy Harper_.

They'd all been told about me - that I'd been on ice for **eight years** and now I was back - but I still had to meet them. So that couldn't be why, because they'd certainly seen me before - or at least, someone a hell of a lot _like_ me - right?

It took her a moment to realize that I was staring because I'd _caught_ her staring at _me_, and with this strange, amused feeling I watched as her eyes widened a bit and she ducked out of sight. Cute.

Wait a second. _Cute?_

Good lord.

Being on ice that long must've somehow fried my brains.

I let myself grin for a moment before Nightwing called everyone into silence.

"Everyone, as you know, this is Roy - the original. Roy, this is the Team."

Everyone waved at me, smiling - their smiles were bothering.

I wanted to be sick.

What was this, a pity party? I didn't want their _sympathy_ - I wanted eight years of my life back, the eight years that my _clone_ had unknowingly lived. **That** was what their smile held: pity. Sympathy. I wanted _neither_._  
_

"I'm Garfield," the green boy piped up, the first to readily introduce himself. He grinned at me, the sympathetic smile gone. "Also Beast Boy."

Oh. Wait. _That_ was his real name?

"I'm Bee," the girl next to him offered, "here, though, I'm Karen."

I tried his best not to grimace at the suspicion in her eyes. Dammit. And I'd been doing _so well_, too.

"I'm Jaime," the boy standing behind 'Garfield' said, offering him an uncertain grin. At least he wasn't hiding the fact that this was a bit _unusual_ for all of them, to meet the original Speedy - no, the original _Roy_ - when they had assumed that the clone had been _me_.

Ugh.

"I'm Blue Beetle," he added after a beat of awkward silence.

I nodded.

I turned to the guy standing next to him, and he nodded. "Name's Mal - I'm Gaurdian."

Well, okay then. Sure. Like I know who all of these people are. Yeah. Expect me to remember who _all_ these heroes are. Way to go, Justice League.

The guy next to him was kind of obvious. He openly grinned up at me and said, "I'm L'gann - Lagoon Boy, of course!"

I nodded again. Sure. 'Of course'.

"I'm Bart!"

My attention was grabbed by another grinning boy. "I'm also Impulse." (Was he the newest Flash guy around here?)

I nodded once more. Where was Kid Flash - _Wally_? Where was Aqualad - Kaldur? Weren't they here, too? Why weren't they here? And that girl - Artemis. Where was she?

"It's nice to meet you, Roy!"

O-kaaay.

I'd certainly _missed out_ on a crap-ton of things over the last eight years, hadn't I?

My eyes shifted to Robin. I had to remind myself that this wasn't the Robin _I_ had known, back before the whole clone mess. And if I remembered right, his name was _Tim_. I'd met him earlier, when I'd been reintroduced to the first Robin... and my clone... and Green Arrow... and a few other League members...

He nodded at me. I returned it. He was just like his... brother (And apparently he'd missed out on the second Robin, Jason Todd...)?

The girl next to him piped up. "I'm Batgirl," she said, smiling something close to a sincere half-smile. I appreciated the effort. "Barbara, too." I nodded. I wondered if Nightwing had told them all to give me their real names - I was a stranger to them, wasn't I? I wasn't _supposed_ to be, but I was.

"I'm M'gann," a cheerful voice spoke up. Behind Batgirl, there was a green girl - a martian, I'm pretty sure that's what she was - smiling at me. She had a friendly expression - a genuinely friendly expression. Well, that was certainly a nice change. "Also Miss Martian. And this is Conner - Superboy." The guy next to her nodded in my direction. I nodded back.

I was doing a hell of a lot of nodding at people today.

Last - and not least - my eyes fell on the blonde girl from before.

The grin on her face was nearly contagious. I had to take a guess and say that she was giving a genuine effort not to start blushing after I'd caught her staring.

"I'm Wonder Girl," she said, a bit proudly if I'm not mistaken, "but call me Cassie."

Cassie, huh?

Well, okay then.

I kept my arms crossed, observing each member of the Team.

I was aware, however, of Cassie's eyes on me when I turned to Nightwing and told him we could go on the mission whenever they were ready.

"Not before breakfast!" the green woman chirped, and I had to repress a groan. I wasn't hungry (I knew she wasn't just offering me, though) and I wanted to spend some of my pent-up energy - get it out of my system. Eight years was a long time to sleep and do nothing - I needed to do _something_.

"Sounds good to me!" Bart piped up, a grin in place as M'gann and Conner. Soon, everyone had left me presumably alone in the living room. I guessed that it was a team effort, to get a meal in during mornings before missions.

"You want something to eat?"

I turned around sharply, my arms dropping to my sides, relaxing when I saw it was Cassie - Wonder Girl.

"Not hungry," I replied, my eyes narrowing behind my mask. Her smile was kind, and her hands were on her hips, her head tilted a bit to the side.

Dammit.

It was getting hard not to stare.

I studied her for a bit. But her eyes were the part of her that were making it _really_ hard not to stare. There was just something about them, something I couldn't place - something I should avoid, but I didn't see it coming.

I couldn't have.

"You should try M'gann's pancakes," she told me, as if she really cared for my well being - she wasn't acting awkward, like I wasn't seriously pissed off about the whole on-ice-for-eight-years thing, like the Roy they'd known hadn't been real. I wanted them to know, to notice, and they did - but this? From her? This was nice. Like, really nice.

I decided on the spot that I liked her.

More than I should.

And, damn, I really shouldn't have kept looking at her. I should have seen it coming, what looking into those eyes could do to me. It was cliché, really, but what the hell - it was true.

"I'm not hungry," I repeated. Damn, I hardly even knew her and I already _knew_ she was a stubborn girl. I could have noticed anything about anyone else - but _no_ - I had to go and point out to myself that I already knew that she was _stubborn_.

What was her motive, though, for talking to me? Why was she trying to get me to join them? Was there something I was missing? Was she _up_ to something?

I was about to ask her when that kid - Jaime, right? - called from the kitchen, "Want to help me out a bit here, Cass?" I almost sneered. I was a stranger among friends. They knew each other extremely well - and me? If it weren't for my clone, they wouldn't even have to worry about a stranger in their midst. Except, he found me - Ollie hadn't.

Couldn't've been mad at him for that, now could I?

"Just a second!" she called back, and then her attention was focused completely on me.

Great.

Now she had license to stare _without_ having to worry about getting _caught_ because this was a one-on-one conversation. But I still found it amusing that I'd caught her _staring_ - at me - in this way that usually wasn't reserved for me. No, I got a different kind of stare - the kind that made you angry, the kind that made you remember why they were looking at you in that certain way in the first place.

"So?"

"So, what?" I asked.

"You going to come with me?"

"No." I scowled at her. I wasn't in the mood. Besides, I'd just make things awkward in the kitchen, right? No need to make them any _more_ uncomfortable which would make me even _more_ pissed off at the fact that I'd had _eight years_ stolen from me.

"Well, I never said you got a choice," she said, reaching out and grabbing my robotic arm. I watched as a look of shock presented itself on her face, and I continued to watch with interest as her fingers wrapped around my wrist tightly - with a determined grip.

"But you asked - "

"To see if you'd go willingly," she interrupted me. "Come on, you can help set the table. Make way everyone, I'm coming through!"

I was helpless as she dragged me away from the solitude I desired at the moment and, seeing no way out of this, I took this chance to really look at her.

And a thought made me smile - just a tiny bit - and a bit of that stinging, cold, heavy bittern broken-ness that was swelling in my chest went down just a bit (all thanks to her, no doubt). In a second, I was smirking as I she handed me a stack of plates topped with silverware and someone was pushing me out, out, out, and I said something - I don't think I was paying attention enough to watch my words - and then someone - I think it was Tim - laughed at me for it.

At least _she_ hadn't caught _me_ staring this time.

But, still:

I should have seen it coming.

* * *

**Review? :D**


	3. Yes And No

**The Force of the Alternate Universe is extremely strong with this one-shot!**

* * *

_A/U Status:_

_1 - - - Major  
2 - - - Non  
3 - - - High School_

* * *

Dick hated being bearer of bad news. Well, not bad news - _disappointing_ news. He especially hated bearing _that_ kind of news when it concerned one of his friends and said friend's heart's desire (it was true; everyone knew it). He usually didn't like being the messenger when it came to dealing with his friends. Some friends handled disappointing news well. Others didn't take it so well. One way to not take disappointing news was to mope around - be bitter about it and sort of lash out. Roy tended to act this way when he got bad news.

No, not the Roy he'd known for the past few years - no, he meant the other one that hadn't known he'd had a identical twin with the exact same name. The one with the buzz cut.

Dick stood outside the Harper boys' house (even though it was actually Ollie's), contemplating his options. Option number one: he could do what he'd come over to do, which was to give a Harper - buzz cut or not - the disappointing news. Option number two: he could skedaddle and call with the bad news. Option number three: he could call the Roy he'd known for the past few years and tell him to tell his brother. Option three: scram.

He immediately chose the first one; since when he had ever backed out when it came to doing things the right way?

As he raised his fist to knock on the door, he hesitated for a split second. Neither Harper took disappointing news well. The two of them were pretty much clones of the other (the exact definition of identical twins, apparently). The news he was delivering concerned a fifteen-year-old Cassandra Sandsmark. While she was short, blonde, bubbly, smart, athletic, and fearless, she seemed to be a decent enough person to have won over Buzz Cut (as cliché as that sounded, it was true), and although she might never admit it, he'd done the same to her. Even though he didn't know that.

Dick was a senior at Justice High, along with his friends, which included Megan Morse, Connor Kent, Roy Harper Artemis Crock, Kaldur Ahm, Wally West, Zatanna Zatara, Barbara Gordon, Jade Nguyen and Raquel Ervin. The rest of his friends were in their sophomore year. There was Tula Lor, Jaime Reyes, Garfield Logan, Karen Beecher, L'gann Derser, his brother Tim Drake (of course - his brother Jason Todd was a junior ), Mal Duncan, and, last but not least: Cassandra Sandsmark. Roy Harper (Buzz Cut) was technically their age, but he'd been held back two years. So, even though he was seventeen, he was in his crush's (he **hated** it when anyone called her that; the word embarrassed him) grade.

The lot of them (except Buzz Cut) knew that Cassie felt the exact same way about him.

There was the October Dance - something put on by Dick, Tim's, and Jason adoptive father, Ollie Queen (he was taking care of the Harper boys), Paula Crock (Artemis and Jade's mom), and Dinah ( the P.E teacher/Athletics director). They planned it every year for the high school (well, ever since all of them had come to work or have children who attended Justice High) the day before Halloween (so kids couldn't scare other kids).

About 90% of the kids who attended Justice High went to the October Dance (which was tonight). Not because of the dancing, but because of the games, crafts, and activities - of all different kinds. It was like a carnival inside the school gym.

Dick's group of friends usually went to the dance. One or two of them might have not have made it, but they usually went, had fun, left, stayed out late, and then had spent the Saturday after laughing about the events of the night before.

Roy (Buzz Cut) had wanted to ask Cassie himself if she would go to the dance with him.

Dick hated to be the one to tell his friend that Cassie had "other plans". He wouldn't take the news well. Wally had decided that he wouldn't be the one to ask - instead, he'd sent Dick to Justice High to ask her, and now here he was with his answer. He really, _really_ didn't want to tell him this; Roy was annoyed enough at Wally for making it harder to just _ask her _, and now he was worried that his friend might lose a limb - or a vital organ, because she wasn't just some girl - she was _Cassie_. The close-knit group of friends, along with most of the school's populace (though Cass didn't know this) had all decided the same thing (much to Buzz Cut's disapproval):

Roy Harper had it **bad** for Cassie Sandsmark.

Cassie was doing field and track later on in the year, along with Wally, Dick, and Jason. She wasn't as much as a runner as she was someone who did shot-put, javelin throwing, and long jump (she insisted that she was practically flying when she jumped). She seemed more like Megan, a cheerleader, at times, but after being around her for a week, you would get the feel of a track star - just not a runner. No, her strength resided in muscle. Not speed - which was Wally's thing. Roy didn't do any real school-related sports.

He was athletic, yes - he, at times, played soccer, but like his twin brother and Artemis, one of his hobbies was archery. He liked running, though. Wally wanted him to join; ever since he'd arrived in February, the freckled 'speedster' (a nickname given to him by his team), he had persistently insisted that A.) he would like it and B.) it was a way to talk to Cassie without it being **totally** awkward.

Both Harper boys shared the same skills, but Buzz Cut (the younger one) seemed more... outgoing when it came to track. His brother preferred basketball (he was a tad bit more muscular and a tad bit taller) and had even tried out for football (but had ultimately decided not to after his girlfriend Jade had asked him not to, shockingly).

Buzz Cut was still deciding if he wanted to join Wally, Cass, and Jason (he wasn't really friends with Jason, but found him amusing and got along with him just fine). Cassie was still a reason, though, for saying yes or no.

A thought struck Dick, and the thought made him smile as he continued to hold his fist above the door. Buzz Cut had certainly noticed her on his first day at Justice High, and hadn't exactly forgotten her. It was actually quite funny.

On another note, it had become common knowledge that the twins' parents had tied and had been separated at birth (although now it felt like that had never happened). It had also become common knowledge that Buzz Cut wasn't very happy, being confused with his brother _all the god damn time_. But at least now he was doing better (except when he moped around and gave people the silent treatment when upset.

He was preparing himself for this. He was also preparing to give up going to the dance tonight (which was going to start in about half an hour, but it was within walking distance from Justice High, so he wasn't worried about missing the short, yearly speech Bruce gave everyone right before the dance.

The only people who weren't going were Cassie (he hadn't bought her "other plans" excuse for a second), Buzz Cut (at least, he suspected that he wouldn't go after this), Tula (she was out of town with an old friend of Kaldur's named Garth) and Tim (Tim had decided to hang out with some girl named Stephanie from a different school who was visiting someone in town, even though Jason had threatened to crash whatever party he was having of his own and drag him to the dance).

Dick sighed as a cool October breeze seemed to take away the last of the sun's warmth. There was no way he was getting around this. He squared his shoulders and knocked on the door, thinking of what mood Roy would be in for the next few days (maybe months; who knew?) as he knocked on the door a few times before shoving his hands into his coat pockets. A few seconds of silence met him before the door opened and Buzz Cut was looking at him suspiciously. He did his best not to cringe at the crossed arms, the narrowed blue eyes: all signs of doubt. It was like he already knew.

"Hey, Roy," Dick said, not even trying to act cheerful.

"What'd she say?" the redhead asked, getting straight to the point.

"... she said she had other plans."

A look of... _something_ flashed across Roy's features right before they turned stony, but there was no mistaking the obvious disappointment in his eyes. Dick felt like a crappy friend, but there was nothing he could do to make it better, not really.

"Thanks for telling me," Roy muttered. "I guess you'd better get going to your dance," he said. His words should have sounded sharp, harsh - cold. But they were void of emotion, which alarmed the Dick. "I'll see you later." With that, he shut the door, allowing no more of the conversation to take place. Dick shrugged. He'd done what he'd had to do - he'd been up front about it and had told him the truth. The truth was what the Harper boys always wanted (no matter what), even if it hurt. This time, it hurt a lot.

He turned around and reluctantly walked away. Roy would only get angry if he stuck around. Maybe it was better that he stayed home - he'd make sure everyone wouldn't give him a choice and talk to him about it tomorrow. Or, the inevitable would happen: Wally or Kaldur or everyone would agree to call him on one phone, put him on speaker-phone, and talk to him all at once. Yes, that was definitely more likely to happen sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Cassie was walking at a slow, lazy pace in what she hoped was the right direction. In her hand, she had a crumpled up piece of paper with an address on it.

It had Roy's address on it.

Cassie felt extremely guilty for not saying yes to going to the "dance" with Roy (she didn't really need to call him Buzz Cut because she hadn't really known the one who'd known the rest of her group of friends as well as the younger one), but she did have "other plans". She had gotten Ollie's address (even though he had technically moved in with Dinah, he still owned his old house, but had pretty much given it over to the 'clone and its copy') from Kaldur after making him promise profusely that he wouldn't tell that she had asked him for it. She knew he probably was at the dance, that he'd just wanted her to come - he was sort of her friend. Sort of.

Everyone, lately, seemed to know something that she didn't. Whenever he was around, fellow students would send them both wolfish grins, knowing smiles, and humorous expressions. He seemed to know why; whenever he had to speak to her - whether it was a question about what she planned on doing in track and field this year or something to do with a class. She didn't know what they knew, but _she_ sure knew something: she liked him, maybe too much for her own good. And maybe coming to see him on a Friday night was a bad idea. Maybe he would turn her down as soon as she showed up at his door. Artemis and Jade had encouraged her _numerous_ - no, **countless upon countless upon countless** - times to just go up and say "hi" as only she would. Now, she didn't exactly know why she had even allowed two part-Vietnamese girls to talk her into going over to see him - just to drop by and say hello. They had _assured_ her that he would either A.) order her out of the area or B.) talk to her.

Honestly, she had no idea how she felt about either option, but she knew she was probably getting her hopes up for nothing. As soon as she'd given her answer to Dick, she knew that it wasn't fair of her to go over to Roy's house and ask if she could talk to him, explain why she didn't want to go with the dance with him.

Why hadn't she gone to the dance with him? Because she'd rather just _talk_ to him. Just... one on one. That was it. He didn't even have to let her inside - all she wanted was to explain herself.

Eventually, after rounding a few corners and crossing a few streets, she found herself standing on the front step of the Harper boys' house. She had no idea what to do. Or say. 'Oh, hey - I know I totally just turned you down but can we talk?'

Artemis and Jade had been certain of the second option, although option A.) seemed to be becoming more and more likely as the last inkling of daylight and warmth faded away, leaving her alone in the lamplight above the door. And she was here now. And she wouldn't be going the dance - _ever_.

Might as well get it over with, right?

With the heavy weight of guilt making it hard to breathe, she raised her and, and knocked twice on the door.

A few seconds later, it was open, and Buzz Cut was staring down at her.

His eyes were narrowed. His arms were crossed over his chest. He looked like he was clenching and un-clenching his jaw. He was tapping his sock-clad foot impatiently.

"Hey." She said finally, her voice cracking.

Dammit.

Why was this so hard.

"How'd you know where I live?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. She stood there nervously.

"I asked Kaldur."

His eyebrows shot upward, and his surprise presented itself plainly. He had to be wondering why, right?

"Why?"

"...um," she said stupidly, her hand going to the back of her neck, avoiding his cutting gaze.

"I don't think you came all the way here to tell me that you decided not to go," he said after a moment, stepping out of the house (to her surprise), shutting the door behind him (oh no, this probably was a bad idea!). Cassie took the time to notice that he was wearing sweatpants that hung low, on his hips, his t-shirt loose, his feet clad in black. In the lamplight, his eyes were darker - they still were visible, like glittering black diamonds - and they seemed to have locked onto her.

_Oh no._ Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, **oh no**.

Dammit.

Dammit. **Dammit**. **_Dammit_**.

He was hurt.

She shouldn't have come, this was all a mistake -

"I wanted to explain," she blurted, cutting herself off, clearing her throat. She shivered. She hadn't remembered to bring her jacket. Wearing her usual "uniform" as Artemis put it, she realized she'd been too nervous to notice that she was chilly. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

"Explain what?" he acted like he didn't know what she was talking about. She knew that he knew that she knew that he knew **exactly** what she was going to explain, but at least he didn't know what she was going to _say_ about it... right?

"I know you're upset about me saying no," she blurted again, cursing herself inwardly for speaking before thinking, but having no control over her vocal cords, apparently, "and I just want to say that I'm sorry and I'm here because - "

" - because saying it to my face would be better?" he interrupted, his expression stony. She gulped.

"No, you don't get it," she said quickly. "My **other plans** were to explain to you why the hell I decided to come over here to see you, rather to see you at the dance!"

She didn't know that he was sincerely shocked at what she was saying.

"See, I never go to those kinds of things - I always ruin them once I get bored, and I figured that since you didn't like it last year - "

" - how did you know that?" he asked.

"Kaldur told me."

Roy narrowed his eyes.

Of course he'd told her.

Why hadn't he guessed?

Someone was bound to do it sooner or later.

After a an awkward beat of silence, she went on. "So I figured I'd come out here, and find you - I really hope that's not creepy or anything - because I like you and - "

Cassie slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes nearly bulging out of her skull.

Roy was speechless. He was wide-eyed himself. She had **not** just said that... had she? It seemed so unlikely, so impossible, so, so -

"Please don't slay me," she blurted, drawing his attention back to the blonde in front of him. "It's just that you're you and I - "

"Cassie - "

" - I just feel really bad about it but I didn't want to go but if - "

" - Cassie? - "

" - if you - "

" - **Cass**."

Cassie clamped her mouth shut, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"It's fine."

Her jaw dropped.

Huh?

His rigid posture had relaxed, his stony expression had lost itself in a grin that seemed to be morphing into a smirk (oh...no?) second by second.

"It's fine, Cass."

"What..."

"I promise."

"You're not mad?"

"No, I still am."

"Then why - "

" - _Cassie_," Roy cut her off, and she glared at him.

"What?!"

"I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner."

"Seeing what sooner?"

"That you like me."

He seemed... happy or gleeful... about that?

"I _know_ you didn't want to go. But I figured that you might go with me. Apparently, I was wrong."

"O...kay?" Yes, she already knew he was wrong - he knew he was wrong. Where was he going with this?

"You know I get it, right?"

Huh?

She blinked. "No..."

Roy sighed and stepped off the front step, so he was on the front walk _right in front of her_. She gulped. Sometimes she forgot that she was fairly short for a sophomore.

"I'm not okay with it, you know - thinking you can just come over here after rejecting me."

She flinched, remembering how much his words could hurt. "I get _that_ part," she said slowly. Why hadn't he made her vacate the area yet?

"But I get why you said no so you could unofficially say yes."

Cassie's eyes widened. Oh...

Oh wow.

"Coming to the dance would have been easier, you know," he said. His smirk was still in place. Wasn't this a bad thing? Or was this a good thing? Why hadn't he ordered her to skedaddle yet?

"I know." She did. She did know. So...

"Who talked you into it?" he asked.

Crapcrapcrap! He **knew**!

Silence met his question.

"I know it was either Artemis or Jade," he said after a moment.

"It was both of them, actually."

There were a few more moments of silence. Cassie had no idea what to say now.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, scratching the back of her head.

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yes." Roy was sort of confused as to why she couldn't have just said yes to the dance and then they could have talked. The rest of their friends would have **encouraged ** that. So, she'd said no, but instead she had come _all the way over here_ - after getting his address from Kaldur - to talk instead. He could see why, and it was getting harder and harder to stay mad at her.

"So..."

[A few awkward seconds later...]

"You look pretty cold."

"That's what happens in October, Buzz Cut."

She almost giggled. Since when did she call him Buzz Cut?

"Hang on a second," he turned away from her and went back inside the house for a few minutes.

As Cassie waited, she began to panic. Should she leave? Was he leaving her out here for a reason? Was this a sign to go? Was she done here?

Before she could turn and head home, the door opened and Roy stepped out.

He held out something to her - she couldn't make out what it was, since the porch light wasn't exactly subbing as the sun very well.

Cassie hesitantly took it and realized it was a sweatshirt - Roy's (Huh...). Smiling as a bit of hope began to come back at her, she slipped it over her head and fitted her arms through the sleeves, tugging it down towards her hips, feeling instantly warmer. And a tad bit happier. Yeah, she had it bad for him.

"You should probably head home," he said.

Feeling a twinge of disappointment, she had no idea what else to ask:

"Don't you want this back?"

He shrugged. "Come by tomorrow sometime, and we'll see if I want it back," he smirked.

Cassie brightened visibly (which did not go unnoticed by Buzz Cut). This meant she was going to see him again tomorrow... right? Did that mean he wasn't bothered by the fact that she liked him? Did that mean -

She cut herself off. She wouldn't be _that_ hopeful... yet?

Roy smirked as he watched her turn and walk away, her figure disappearing into the night. He wasn't really mad at her anymore. He couldn't be. He still felt... **hurt**, but not terribly so. But it wasn't all bad.

Roy would see Cass tomorrow.

This was turning out a lot better than the October Dance.

* * *

**Review?**


	4. We All Die

**I am trying to keep these chapters above 1000k words. I'm starting to make shorter chaps for other stories(uh-oh?). Anyways, t****hank ye all for reading. **

* * *

_A/U Status:_

_1 - - - Major  
2 - - - Non  
3 - - - Adulthood (unknown?)_

* * *

The cemetery was silent, save for the wind drifting through the naked trees. The ending of the day was nearing. Snow littered the ground in an ultra-thin layer as it fell around the lone woman standing over a small, simple gravestone. Star City seemed to be nonexistent as the snow continued to fall, sticking in her blonde hair, gradually plastering her bangs to her forehead. Her arms were crossed over her chest tightly, her slender yet muscular body still in the frigid December air. She was clad in black leather; her jacket, pants, and boots were muddy from the training outdoors she'd been receiving from her friend Artemis Crock and her elder sister Jade Nguyen. Artemis was trying to teach her to hunt with a bow, and Jade was attempting to teach her stealth so their prey wouldn't hear them coming.

Five o'clock was nearing. Daylight was fading fast. But she needed to stay for at least half an hour. That was Cassie Sandsmark's goal. She never stayed long when it came to visiting Roy Harper's grave. He'd been dead for what, six months now? She didn't like keeping track of it, but what else was there to do? He'd had a place in her life - a place now an empty void. She didn't think anyone could ever fill it. At least, not for a very long while.

She looked down at the gravestone and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. It wouldn't go away, though.

**ROY WILLIAM HARPER, JR.**

**MAY 11, 2001 - JUNE 1, 2022**

**REST IN PEACE**

It made her think. The car accident had been six and a half... they'd kept him on life support... but they hadn't been able to -

Cassie immediately stopped herself from thinking about anything. It was do her no good to cry for the millionth time at the thought of his death. People died, didn't they? Everyone died. The young woman knew this. Somehow, someday - you died. It didn't matter how hard you tried to stay alive. In the end, as her mother would wisely say when she was little, and her dog had been hit by a speeding car, "we all die".

Cassie just now realized how essential those three wise words were to getting through life.

Death happened. Sometimes, it happened way too soon in some people's life. Sometimes, it was expected, and sometimes, it was so sudden that nothing could be done about it, other than to be accepted.

The car accident hadn't been expected. Roy Harper, her boyfriend, had been on his way home after going to Star City's local archery range (it was astounding, how popular that place was on Saturday's night). The drunk driver was at fault, though he hadn't been charged with anything. He hadn't paid for what he'd done. Even if he had been drunk.

His twin brother had nearly pummeled the young man to death after hearing the news at the hospital and seeing her screaming at a cop for justice, for the life of his brother's, a few weeks after his death, consumed by the sadness and unfairness of it all. But Jade had followed him - out of concern, for him of course, and at the request of Cassie - and had stopped him from the killing the college-age man, who had received hospital treatment (but had wisely decided not press any charges, despite the damage that had been done to his body).

Jade and Artemis had offered to cook Cassie a Vietnamese-style dinner with their mother when she got back to their apartment. Ever since Roy's death, they had allowed her to have one of the guest bedrooms in the large house (being accepted on scholarship to that preppy high school had gotten the archer into a top-notch college in Gotham, and was now working the owner of some big company that had its employees make a "good amount" of money; Artemis had gotten her mother out of that small apartment in Gotham, and bought her a large (it was enormous, by Paula's standards). Artemis and Jade still lived with her mother (in fear that the handicapped woman would be alone) and had told Cassie that she could stay as long as she needed to. Cassie still lived with her roommate Karen. Since Karen was out in Europe somewhere doing something for college, Cassie had left the apartment they shared (temporarily) for Artemis' house.

"So, um..."

Cassie somehow managed to start up some sort of conversation with his gravestone. Every god damn time she came here, she tried to talk to him, even though she knew that he would never hear her voice again. She thought it was ridiculous and Roy had probably thought the exact same thing, but it was for both of them. Besides, she always felt better after talking to nothing but bones.

Odd, right?

Sighing, the woman, who was in her early twenties, plopped herself down on the ground, completely ignoring the snow that was slowly freezing her ass off. Pushing her hair over her shoulder and shaking her bangs out of her eyes, she crossed her legs, rested her elbows on her knees, and set her on her left fist.

"Roy, I know you can't hear me - I buried you myself, made sure everything was in order... it's been only six months..."

Taking a deep, shaky breath, she went on.

"I'm getting better at training, you know. I'm almost as quiet as Jade, and I'm slowly getting better at archery, but it's not my thing... y'know?"

A sharp gust of wind answered her as she paused.

Dammit.

God dammit!

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

Cassie always felt stupid, staring out like this, not knowing what to "tell him".

So, she just started talking.

Babbling was more like it.

"Everyone misses you. Your brother - I still have no god damn glue why you two have the same name - still won't come. He says he'll go with me after it's been a year. Can you wait six months for that, Roy? I sure couldn't. If I were you, and if I were a ghost, and if ghosts actually existed, I would be pretty pissed off. And I've seen you **and** your brother get pissed off. Remember that time, when I was sixteen, and you said that you hated everything in the world? And then you walked out because you got kicked out of that one school. Remember that? There's something I didn't tell you, you know. You made me cry. But you said it yourself after you came back: Wonder Girl - I **still** don't know where you got that nickname - never cries. But I did, see, but you know, it wasn't really your fault. Actually, it was. I - what the hell am I even talking about?"

Cassie squeezed her eyes shut, and keeping them shut, she continued on, but not before taking a deep, shaky breath.

"Everyone misses you - but I think you already knew that. I - I'm a teacher, did you know that? Can you **believe **that? I teach boxing - at one of the rings, in Star City, just a block away from your archery range. I just got the job. Stealth was never my thing - Jade knows that, but she wants me light-footed enough to fly. **_Pfft_**. As if. Me? Fly? In what universe? I love it. It's only been a few days, and I love it! The kids there, the kids who have records - I don't know why they tell me these things - they like what I teach them. I tell them it's for self defense. One of the boxers there said I was a good person, and that I didn't hit like a girl. Can you believe that? I guess you could, if you were here, if you were listening... Roy? Can you hear me? I know you're dead, and gone, and - Roy! Can you hear me?"

Cassie stared helplessly at the gravestone, tears stinging her eyes - blurring her vision.

"Roy, I... I don't know what to say... I..."

Taking another deep breath, she tried again. "You know I'll never forget you - never. Not ever. No one will, I'll make sure of that. And even if I do move on, 'll never forget you. I've kept that broken arrow, the one you said I could keep, and I know how much you lived your arrows, even the broken ones... do you remember that one, Roy? Last year, on Valentine's Day, you hung up that piñata up at your place in the living room, and when I was eating... you shot it!" she sniffed, not allowing herself to stop, "the candy got all over me, and I - " she paused when her voice cracked, and went on again, " - I went after you with my oatmeal, I dumped it on your head, and then you pined me to the wall, and you looked so funny with your..." she choked. "...you tasted like oatmeal. And then you... you told me you didn't even like Valentine's Day... but you did it for me... and it's not even a big deal to me... it never was... but you... did it for me... and I... oh god..."

Cassie stood quickly, wiping her eyes, but she wasn't fast enough.

Tears began to slide down her cheeks anyway as she choked back a sob.

This was so unfair.

Turning around, wiping her eyes, she was shocked to see Artemis and Jade waiting for her, much to her surprise. Hadn't she walked here? Hadn't they said they'd wait for her, and then when she was back home, they and their mother would teach her how to make some Vietnamese food? Apparently, either they hadn't been able to wait, or they had grown worried.

From a distance, she could see Artemis sitting on the hood of the car - clad in a black hoodie, jeans, and tennis shoes, with a bit of her pony tail hanging out of her hood. She looked perfectly fine, sitting there in the rain. Jade was sitting on the roof of the black sedan, her legs swinging idly back and forth. Her black slacks had dark, damp spots from the snow. She had on a matching black t-shirt with a light, hoodless jacket on. Her hair, as always, was free and damp, sticking to her skin.

When they noticed her staring at them, they both smiled and waved. Artemis stood on the sidewalk, and Jade stood on the car's roof, beckoning Cassie over. They knew that she needed her time, her space when it came to visiting Roy's grave.

Slowly, the blonde made her way over to the sisters that were waiting patiently. When she got over to them, they immediately lost their cheery demeanor.

"I thought I told you guys I would walk back," Cassie said, clearing her throat, wiping her eyes again as Jade jumped down from the sedan roof. Artemis put a hand on her shoulder in a simple, comforting manner. It was her way of assuring Cassie - without words - that everything would be **sort of** okay, someday. Just not today or tomorrow.

"You took longer than usual," Jade said.

Cassie thanked the God she didn't believe in that they knew not to say anything about it, that they knew that talking about it wouldn't help her - it would only lead to her in tears. And no one wanted her a sopping mess, now did they? Even though they didn't mind it, even though Artemis' family (except for the estranged, never-seen-in-four-years Lawrence Crock) was comfortable with the fact that Cassie was still adjusting to the death of someone's she'd cared about possibly more than most she already did care about.

It was good to have Paula, Jade, and Artemis as friends. It was like they knew exactly what pain and suffering was. Except there was no pain or suffering for Cassie: there was only a numbing feeling that was slowly - ever so slowly - fading away, with each passing month. She'd heal. She would. It would just take some time.

"Mom was wondering where you were," Artemis added. "Besides, we want to eat - and we don't want you to starve."

"You'll love what we have planned," Jade added, smirking mischievously.

"I will, will I?" Cassie raised an eyebrow. "What are we cooking?"

"It's a surprise," Artemis said, tugging her towards the car.

"We don't want to keep Mom waiting, do we now?" Jade asked as Cassie slid into the back seat, the elder sister taking the wheel and the archer getting in on the shotgun side.

"No," Cassie answered quietly as Jade started the car and Artemis immediately began fiddling with the radio, "I suppose not."

"Good!" the sisters chirped together. "Then let's get moving!"


	5. Please Say Yes

**I hope you like this :) this was so... fun for me to write. I loved this idea too much :)**

* * *

_A/U Status:_

_1 - - - Major  
2 - - - The Show  
3 - - - Proposal_

* * *

To say that Roy was nervous was an understatement. To say that he was downright scared was only a little over-exaggeration. He wasn't used to being uncomfortable. Yes, that was the word. He was uncomfortable. Roy, of course, didn't show that he was uncomfortable. He and Cassie were hanging out with their large group of friends. It was almost six o'clock, and it was raining outside the hotel they were all staying at.

He was sitting next to Cassie, of course, while they ate their fancy schmancy seaweed-filled dinner. He was always next to Cassie. He liked being next to her. When he was with her, the anger he _always_ felt - being on **ice** for **eight years** sometimes did that to you - gradually dissipated until it was completely gone, temporarily, at least. Being with her, however, was a whole other matter. It reminded him constantly of the fact that they both had each other to worry about, when Roy was Arsenal, and Cassie was Wonder Girl. It astounded him, that after he'd been through, seven years later that he was still dating the bubbly, enthusiastic girl he'd met when she was fourteen. Well, dating wasn't the way to put it. You couldn't officially "date" when you were a part of the Justice League. Well, you could. It just sounded sort of weird.

They were on "vacation", apparently. The lot of them were.

Dick and Tim were arguing over something Justice League-related. Of course, they were talking in code, so no one else in the hotel's restaurant could find out what they were talking about. Artemis was leaning her head on Wally's shoulder, her eyes half-closed. She was doing her best not to fall asleep right then and there. Wally was grinning at her and stealing the seafood off her plate. Zatanna kept trying to keep Artemis awake, by talking to her and muttering simple spells that made the blonde archer's alcohol sizzle. But it did nothing to help her exhaustion. Jaime was currently talking to Cassie about something, and Roy was talking with his clone, in hushed tones about what was making him _uncomfortable__. _Kaldur and L'gaan were chatting animatedly about something water-related, it was sort of hard to tell with all the other conversations going on at their extended table. M'gaan was talking with Conner about something - they were speaking in even more softer tones than everyone else. And Garfield? Garfield was scarfing down his second helping of shrimp while he and Jaime - and Bart - conversed between bites of food and snickers. Barbara and Karen were giggling girlishly over something in what could have been in an annoying manner. But they didn't get the chance to act like this often. Rocket and Mal were grinning at each other while mimicking everyone else.

This was a good evening, so far.

"So when you are going to ask her?" Roy asked. "Tonight, right? Because I know you've been planning this. For a while."

"And how would you know?" the shorter of the two scowled darkly.

"I'm your clone," he said, "I'm programmed with your DNA." Of course he would know. He was basically him, right?

"Yeah, but... what if she doesn't say yes?"

The clone sighed, and leaned to the left, closer to the original, lowering his voice some more so he could talk some sense into the original.

"Look, I know you love her. Yes, yes, I know one of the only secrets you would never have anyone else know. I got that. But really. If you want to be with her, then be with her. It's not that hard."

Roy gave Roy an incredulous look.

"I know what you're thinking. That she won't... stay. She would have left by now if she didn't love you as much as you love her. She's not naïve, like she used to be, you know. She knows that you're angry, still. She knows that. Don't you think she would?"

Roy said nothing.

He wasn't worried about her leaving, not that much. Not as much as he was worried about what she would say. Of course, he was hoping Cassie would say 'yes'. He needed her. She didn't understand everything - she understood a lot, but not everything - and sometimes, that innocence, that naïvety - the naïvety that she'd had at age fourteen - showed through sometimes, even though she had matured a great amount. He'd constantly teased her about her never growing taller, up until she'd punched him hard enough that he had been sent off his feet and into the training room wall. She was still impatient, bold, blunt - perfect in her own ways. Although she didn't understand every single part of him, she still understood the parts of him that she could. She listened with he woke up in the middle of the night, murmuring darkly about missing eight years of his life, of the injustice of it all. She talked with him, when he needed a distraction. She would talk about anything, if only to distract him. Sometimes, when they talked, he would grow angry, and quiet, usually when a memory at random popped up, or a thought concerning how unfair everything was.

She had put up with him. And he had put up with her. They'd been patient, impatient, angry, happy, jealous - they had gone through all the possible ups and downs that life had to offer. As heroes, they both had to worry about more than themselves and the innocent that they were supposed to protect - they had to worry about each other, too. More than usual. But he was okay with having to worry about her, as long as she didn't die. Then the world would pretty much go straight to hell.

She knew lots of things that he didn't tell anyone else, and then there were things that she didn't know about, but accepted that anyways. And she knew that when he was with her, it was easier to let his feeling show. It was easier, somehow, to deal withe everything. It was so much easier, with her. He had openly admitted to more than just her that he needed her. He needed her, because she loved him as best she could. He still got angry, though, yes. He had even yelled at her a few times, without thinking of what his words would do to her, he had told her that she would never be able to know what he'd been through. He'd told her a lot of things, a lot of harsh things, but still, even when she had been in tears, she had stayed. She had let him yell, scream, and even cry.

Roy also understood Cassie. It wasn't just about him; whenever she saw him, she seemed to brighten. Tim, Jaime, and Artemis liked to point this sort of thing out to him when Cassie wasn't around. She seemed to smile just a little bit more, she seemed to laugh a little bit more with him. But then again, she was like that with most of her friends. But with him, it was like she acted... more like herself. She seemed more relaxed, and calm. She thought a little more logically with him around. And then again, sometimes he let whatever innocence she had left show. She would act dorky occasionally, and in return he'd act like a jerk. But they all had their flaws, didn't they?

Cassie had matured, somewhat, since he'd first met her. He'd found that over the years, she'd go quiet more often. She seemed to contemplate certain things more seriously, she seemed to take everything a little more seriously. Most of the time, anyways. She seem more... understanding. Of everything and everyone around her. She was still blunt, and bold. She was still up-front about almost every little thing. She'd lost some of her "fangirlish-ness", as Barbara had so lovingly dubbed it. She was still bubbly - just not as Wonder Girl. No, as Cassie, she was happier, more care-free than she was as Wonder Girl. When she was Wonder Girl, she acted like it was truly a job - a job that was her life.

Roy sometimes didn't know what it was about him that she liked so much. She tolerated his moods, she laughed when he was frustrated, she did everything most people wouldn't dare do when he was in a certain mood - just because she knew that she could. Why? Because she knew she could get away with it. Because she knew how he worked, when not to do or say certain things. But some days, she slipped up, and said something made him snap, and then they would fight. Most of the time, it was his fault. But there were a few times when she took some of the blame openly.

Roy couldn't really understand why she even bothered with him. He was still reckless, still angry, he still had **so many issues** that he _still_ hadn't figured out how to deal with yet. He wasn't exactly stable, he still had issues with his clone, even though he was pretty much okay with the fact that he had taken eight years of his life without knowing it - and the clone had felt bad about it, too. So it wasn't exactly his fault.

"Roy."

The original looked up, suddenly feeling tired. Drained. She might not want to say yes, though. Sure, they'd been together (he didn't like the term 'dating' and she didn't like the word 'relationship' because it sounded so... not them) for a long time now, but maybe she didn't want to stay with him for a little bit longer. Maybe she would, though. He couldn't figure it out. Maybe she was sick of everything bad he'd ever said to her, maybe she was tired of hearing his complaints and self-pity. Maybe she was tired of it. Perhaps, she would stay with him, though, even if she did say 'no'. He hoped she wouldn't leave she said 'no'. If she did leave, he wouldn't know what he would do. He wouldn't be a complete and utter mess (well, actually, he probably would turn into a complete and utter sopping mess of tears and heartbreak, but it's not like he would he would admit that). Maybe this wasn't a good idea, maybe he should just keep his mouth shut, and settle for going home with her, as always, and then waking up in the middle of the night - and then venting to her. And then they would go back to sleep. Maybe that was how it was supposed to be.

But that's not how Roy wanted it to be, with Cassie.

"Roy."

His attention was drawn back to the taller of the two next to him. He was glaring. Blinking, Roy looked up. "Ask her," he said gently, his glare fading into a sad expression with a slight smile on his face. "Just... bring her outside, out on the balcony or something. And ask her. You've been together for a long time. Just do it, okay? Don't think about anymore: just ask."

Roy nodded at Roy. Well, okay then.

"Cassie," Roy said gently, directing her attention away from Barbara. He hadn't missed the sly grin that the redhead had sent the blonde. "Cassie?"

"Yeah, Roy?" her eyes were clear, and she looked relaxed. There was a small, genuine smile on her lips. He felt like bursting into tears and laughter at the same time. God, he was really going to do what the other Roy had told him to - he was really going to ask her.

"I... I need to talk to you."

Her brow furrowed.

"Alone."

Her smile faded.

Roy almost leaned forward to kiss her, to make that smile come back.

But he didn't.

"O...kay," she said. She stood up before he did. He stood as well, and she followed him away from the table. Everyone noticed, but no one stopped their conversations to inquire about their leaving. They decided to let them go when the clone gave them all a slight smile, and went back to eating his food.

Roy and Cassie found themselves outside, underneath the overhang, on the patio. All around them, people ate and sat quietly, some of the customers of the hotel simply staring at the rain that was falling. This wasn't necessarily more private. It was just less... suffocating. Besides, his friends probably already knew what he was going to ask her. They had teased him - and probably her - about it multiple times in the past.

The rain was making the June night air cold. Cassie didn't really mind the rain. Roy did. But he stayed where he was, squeezing his right hand. Inside it, was the ring.

"Roy, what is it?" Cassie asked, her hand going to his shoulder. It was slightly amusing - she was so short - but he was getting more and more uncomfortable. His heart was beating loudly in his ears, and his breathing was uneven. His hands, luckily, weren't sweating, and she didn't seem to realize how uncomfortable - **not** _nervous_ - he was. Thank God.

"I... " He ran a hand over his hair - even after all this time, he'd still kept the buzz cut - and sighed, his breath shaky. Dammit. How was he supposed to this?

"Roy, what's wrong?" Cassie crossed her arms over her chest. Now she was frowning. He wanted to see her smile, after everything. After what he'd said, and what he'd done - everything. He wanted to see her smile - genuinely - he wanted to make her as happy as she somehow made him. Sometimes he wondered if she was merely staying with him out of pity. He wondered, sometimes, if she was only staying with him, and letting him yell at her and vent, only because she felt bad for him. But maybe, there was a chance.

Maybe, there was a chance that Cassie loved Roy as much as he loved her.

And now, he was taking that chance.

"Cassandra..."

Her eyes narrowed. He **never** used her real name. "Roy, either you tell me what the hell is up with you, or I'll make you."

Roy smiled, brokenly at her.

She blinked.

Roy took a deep breath, and then took a step back from her. A look of shock crossed her features. "Roy... what are you... " To his dismay, tears began to fill her eyes. Did she really think that he was... ? Now he ask to tell her - he **had** to ask her.

Roy slowly, lowered himself to the ground, one knee still up while the toe of his other shoe keeping his pant leg off the dampened ground.

Cassie's eyes went wide, still shining bright in the dim light with tears.

Taking a deep breath, he snatched her left hand and held it out in both of his, making sure she didn't feel the ring. He was oblivious to the fact that several people were staring. Not everyone, but the chatter had died down a bit.

"Cass," he took another deep breath, watching her expression carefully, "I need to ask you something, and I really need to know, because I've been wondering about this for over a year and a half now. And now... I ... "

He took his hand away, and held up the ring. The small, simple diamond glinted.

Cassie's eyes were as large, bright, and glassy as the moon.

"Cassandra Sandsmark..."

Her jaw dropped.

"Will you marry me?"

Cassie was silent for a long, long time. Roy felt tears prick the back of his eyes after a fill thirty seconds of silence passed. This was it, wasn't it? This was the last time he'd see her, right? He would never see her again, and it was all because he'd _needed_ to ask her -

Then, she did something that made him lose his panicky train of thought completely: she closed her mouth, and blinked several times. A tear slipped out, trailed down her cheek, and disappeared into the fabric of her black t-shirt.

"Roy..."

The hand that held the ring began to shake, but she grabbed it. Her eyes were on his.

It was like they were the only people in the world.

"Yes," she sniffed, another tear slipping down her cheek as slipped on the ring, pulling him up sharply. She stared up at him, beaming.

Cassie was positively and absolutely happy.

Roy nearly cried himself.

He'd done it.

He'd made her smile.

"Of course I'll marry you," she said, throwing her arms around his neck and allowing him - for one of the first few times - to lift her up, and spin her around. The butterflies he'd been experiencing had faded, and now he himself was positively happy as well. She pulled away, her eyes shining brightly. They ignored the cheers they got from some bystanders.

Cassie pulled Roy towards the patio doors that would lead them back inside.

So she had wanted to stay with him. She wasn't going to leave.

Roy halted, and then yanked her towards him, stopping her just as she was about to run over to their table - all of its occupants were smirking at them like they knew exactly what had gone on (and they did know) - making her raise an eyebrow. She sniffed again.

"Yes?"

"You know, I don't think I've told you this before..."

Cassie beamed.

"But I love you, Cass."

Cassie's eyes seem to grow impossibly bigger, and her smile was so big, so genuine - so like _her_ - that he wanted to lift her up again.

"Love you, too, Roy."

But kissing Cassie was just as nice, too.

And that's exactly what he did.


	6. She Looked Lost

**Over 1000 views! Thanks, you guys! Means the world! ****This was a bit shorter than usual, sorry about that. This idea... well... you'll see. Posted early - I'm just not in the mood to go by my weekly planner this week, even though it's my spring break... oh well, whatever. Review?**

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_A/U Status:_

_1 - - - Major  
2 - - - Non  
3 - - - Adulthood (unknown?)_

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Cassie didn't know what to do

Usually, she would ask Dick, because he was pretty much the leader of her large group of friends, but this time, she didn't think she could tell him. She didn't feel like she could tell her own mother, or even Artemis and Jade - two women she'd come to trust over the past few years. There was no way in hell she could trust Wally with this, or Bart - or _anyone_. But she couldn't live with something that would become obvious to everyone she knew - and then not explain. She needed to tell someone but she couldn't really trust anyone.

_Especially_ Roy. The fact that they weren't together any more would prove to make this even more of an issue than it already was. Roy couldn't know, even though he was the only other person besides herself who **needed** to know the information she now held in her shaking hands. This was the third test. Three out of three - it was obvious that her fears had been confirmed. Three times, she'd been tested, and three times, it had come out positive.

Cassie dropped the pregnancy test into the wastebasket by her bathroom door and sunk to her knees, tears blurring her vision and leaking down her cheeks as she began to sob, her fists thumping uselessly against the tiled floor as she broke the silence in her apartment again and again, over and over.

How was she supposed to deal with this? She'd known no one who'd gotten pregnant at the age of nineteen - she was too young, wasn't she? And she was single! Single, alone, pregnant, and utterly confused. She knew that she was able to take care of a kid - but to become a mother was a whole other problem. She couldn't have a kid - a kid who would grow up like how she was living - she didn't want her childhood to become her offspring's; the idea of that terrified her even more than the next seven to nine months would, and she didn't even know if she was going to **keep** it. She had no idea what she should do next.

She was sobbing so loud that she failed to hear the pounding on her apartment door. The bathroom door was open, which led into a narrow hall, and if you went right, you'd go into the living room, and just past that was the front door... which someone was probably going to break down. Soon.

But Cassie went on crying, unable to stop. She knew she should do something about - crying about it wouldn't do anything, except exhaust her and send her to bed, where she would have to wake up and deal with the truth all over again.

When she heard the splintering of wood, Cassie finally looked up, a brief anger coursing through her veins at the thought of someone thinking they could just break into _**her** _apartment - when she abruptly lost her rage and resumed crying. She didn't care. It didn't matter.

All that mattered was this...

child?

Thing?

... growing inside of her.

"Hello? Cassie? You here?"

Oh.

Oh **hell** no.

This was **not** what she needed. Especially not from -

"Cass?"

Cassie's eyes focused on Wally West's face. He looked extremely worried - it was evident in his features. No doubt, he'd heard her sobbing from the hallway, and had burst through the door in some mad, heroic attempt to save her from whatever the hell was supposed to be the matter.

Cassie sat up, rubbing her eyes quickly, trying to erase the signs of tears, but it was too late. He'd already seen.

"Cass, what's wrong?" He took a step closer as she got to her feet, slowly, watching her as she sat on the edge of the tub behind her. "You look... bad. Worse than usual."

She gave him a scowl. "Thanks a ton for that **lovely** statement - I totally needed to hear that right now." It meant to be harsh, but her voice was hoarse and she was still overwhelmed by the information sitting in the wastebasket a few feet away.

Cassie knew she was going to tell him. He wouldn't give up on his immediate suspicion that something was _very_ wrong if she told gave him a bullshit answer - he'd search her place top to bottom to find out what had upset her. And there was no way she could say that she was okay, because her on the floor of her bathroom, sitting in a puddle of her own tears set off alarm bells inside his head. She knew this. She also knew that Artemis had **finally** gotten it into his head that when girls said "It's nothing" that it was **never** _nothing_. Even though they made it clear that they didn't want him butting into their business. But **oh effing well**. He insisted on finding out, anyways, now that he actually knew. He would insist, now that he was here. He wasn't going to leave her alone. If he had to, he'd drag Dick, and Artemis, and Barbara, and - and possibly even her own mother here if he couldn't figure it out or if she didn't tell him what was so obviously wrong with her.

"What's up?" he asked again, sitting next to her, his eyes scouring the room for any sign of... well, any sign of something being wrong.

"Don't worry about it," she said, her voice void of any emotion as she dropped her head into her hands, sniveling pathetically. She didn't know what to do. She doubted Wally knew what to do. Jade might, seeing as how she had Lian now in her life, but she didn't want help.

But she needed some advice.

And Wally -

"What's wrong, Cassie?" he asked again, interrupting her negative train of thought.

"I'm... I'm... "

"You're not dying, are you? Because if you say 'it's nothing' and then it turns out you're dying, Arty will skin me alive if I let you off with 'I'm okay'."

Cassie was incredulous for a full four seconds before she burst into laughter, but hiccupped painfully, and clapped a hand over her mouth. She felt sick, sick with emotions that she felt she wasn't ready for.

"No," she sighed shakily, lifting her head up to look at him. She knew that she must have looked worse than she felt. And she felt pretty bad. "I'm not dying."

"Then what's up?" he asked, flashing her a grin. He meant to cheer her up, but it only made her feel worse.

"Wally..." she shook her head, suddenly wondering she could get him to go away - without him knowing. He didn't have to know. Because if he knew, he'd tell Roy, and she didn't even want to think about what Roy would do or say whenever he found out. And he would, because you couldn't keep things from someone like Roy Harper for very long. "Wally, I'm... " all she had to say was 'pregnant' but the word was stuck in her throat. Her mouth was dry now, and her eyelids felt heavy. She couldn't tell him now - she was clamming up. He had to leave, before he found out. He needed to - she had planned on telling him, but now? Now she knew she couldn't, even if he figured it out first.

Unluckily for her, he'd glimpsed two of the small tests in the wastebasket upon arrival.

But luckily, he chose not to bring it up.

Instead, he was going to tell Roy. Because it wasn't rocket science - if you'd known Cassie and Roy, both before they'd been together, during their relationship, and after, you'd know that it was Roy's - the kid. He didn't have to look twice to know they were pregnancy tests, but she obviously didn't want to tell him. And that was fine - because he already knew. But it didn't hurt to see if she was going to tell him or not - right?

"Wally, I'm not going to tell you."

Wally knew she was going to say this. So he said, "you're like a show-off-y, awesome, badass little non-sister to me. You know that, right?"

She nodded and didn't even attempt to smile.

"Yeah... but I'm not going to tell you."

"C'mon - please? You can tell Wall-man anything!"

"Wally..."

He tried again a few more times, but in less than an hour he was out of her apartment and walking down the stairs towards the ground floor. She hadn't told him, but he knew already.

He didn't know what to think about this, but he thought that even though it was none of his business, he ought to tell Artemis. Maybe she could talk to Cassie.

Because Cassie looked lost.

Like she had no idea what to do.

Wally hated to see her like that.


	7. As A Newlywed

**The weekly updates have gone away :( but this is still being added to. I know it's been a long time since I added to this, and I apologize, and I plan to write more before school starts because OH MY GOD HIGH SCHOOL. -_- (nuff said.)Thanks for reading :) BTW This is super short, because I'm currently trying not to make these horrible so... cheers, yah?**

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_A/U Status:_

_1 - - - Major  
2 - - - Non  
3 - - - Adulthood_

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If there was one thing, out of everything that Cassie has dealt in her entire life, that she's positively thankful for, she though it would have to be for the fact that she'd had the courage to ask out Roy Harper. Now, normally, she wouldn't pride herself when she'd publicly humiliated herself while asking the young man out on a date (that she had expected him to say no to), but this time, she was proud of herself, because he'd just smiled and nodded and asked for address so he could pick her up at eight.

That seemed so long ago.

Cassie had been staring at her wedding ring for well over an hour as the silence of hers and Roy's house continued to sit peacefully with her. Roy was at work (she hated it when he worked weekends, especially when they'd only gotten back from their honeymoon a couple of days ago) and he was due home any moment.

Sometimes, the fact that she's married before she's even twenty-nine is shocking to Cassie. The honeymoon had kind of distracted her from that fact, and now that she was alone in their (new, gigantic) house (that Ollie had given them as a _wedding present_, bless his heart) with her thoughts and the silver, simple ring on her finger.

When he had proposed, she'd squeaked, turned red, and had said yes without missing a beat. The next night, she'd almost told him she didn't want to be his fiance, because even though they'd been together for over a year, the idea of being _married_ had scared her.

The morning of the sunset wedding, with their families (but mostly their friends - because Wally and Dick and Artemis and everyone else had pretty much threatened to invite themselves if they weren't invited to them wedding because _they were they friends_), she'd almost gotten cold feet and made a run for it.

But Artemis had talked some sense into her, and she had proceeded with the wedding.

Soon after, Roy had whisked her away to some beach in Fiji (it had been _an amazing honeymoon_) and he had been too much of a distraction for her to be able to be thinking about anything remotely serious.

But here she was.

She was doubting the possibility that their marriage would even last - and she couldn't force herself to be enthusiastic (like she is about _everything_) at the moment. It was strange, not holding a positive emotion to being a newlywed wife.

The sound of the door snapped her out of her thoughts, and she suddenly grinned like an idiot.

She could worry and drown herself in doubts later.

Right now, she had a husband to greet.


End file.
